A Thousand Li: the Second Expedition Read online

  Wu Ying rubbed his chin as he considered. “And you need me to help gather the Blossom and keep it alive.” At Fa Yuan’s nod, he grimaced. “I don’t entirely understand why it’s so dangerous.”

  “Because where the Chan Chu resides, there is only wilderness. The monsters we will face while traveling will be stronger than even the taotei you met. You will need more than a single meridian open to survive. On top of that, we will have to travel fast as our schedule will be tight when the Ben arrive. In your current state, you would not be able to keep up.”

  Wu Ying grimaced again. He felt a flash of regret at having “wasted” his time.

  Soon the pair were hammering out details, working out how long they could afford to wait for Wu Ying to prepare, to strengthen himself. They had to balance between training to ensure that they could complete the mission, and the progression of the poison in their Master’s veins. Luckily, this was a slow-acting poison, giving them at least nine or ten months.

  They talked long into the night, until their initial plans were finally being settled. There was much still to be learned, and while Fa Yuan had already begun the research, there was much she did not know.

  In the end, the waitress arrived and politely indicated the closing of the teahouse. They rose, each with their own objectives, knowledge of the necessities, and their plans weighing on their minds. The next few months would be packed with training, with research, and, for Wu Ying, even more assignments.

  ***

  The next morning, after waking up and finishing his morning ablutions, Wu Ying made his way to his gathering teacher’s residence. When he realized last night that the conversation with his martial sister would take a while, he’d made sure to have the various herbs and plants he had gathered on his latest expedition sent along to her, but he still wanted to ascertain that they had arrived. More importantly, he also needed to ask Elder Li about the Sun Lotus blossom.

  He found Elder Li, his gathering master and the Elder in charge of the growth of the spiritual herbs that supplied the main sect, walking her expensive farm, using her cane to gently raise leaves, push apart tall bushes, and test the soil for correct moisture content by pressing upon it. The old woman did this with every step she took, rattling off recommendations to the long-suffering disciple who trailed behind her.

  Senior Goh Ru Ping bobbed his head at every sentence, memorizing the orders and the knowledge she imparted with every step. Like Wu Ying, Ru Ping was an ex-farmer, one whose paunchy, tanned jowls wobbled with each nod. It still amused Wu Ying that for all the labor and cultivation they had faced, Ru Ping had somehow managed to keep that layer of prosperity[5].

  The gardens and fields of spiritual herbs stretched out behind the smaller residences of Elder Li, sparkling in the light of the gathered chi of the mountain. They started from the back of her main residence and sprawled all the way to the edge of the mountain slope before rising.

  Terraced, manicured fields allowed the Elder to separate the various herbs and plants she grew, while greenhouses, packed with earth on one side and smoky, frosted glass on the other, allowed plants to survive the mild winters that the Sect faced in the State of Shen. Even in the early morning light, gardeners and gatherers tended to the plants, watering, pruning, and weeding as necessary.

  As Wu Ying walked through the farm, he received nods of appreciation and recognition from many of those within. Unlike most of those who studied under Elder Li, Wu Ying was a wandering Gatherer. He trained to pick wild herbs and plants in areas of high environmental chi. It was an important job, as some plants didn’t prosper well under the guidance of human hands or just grew so slowly that wild plants were constantly required to keep up with demand. It was a dangerous job that required both skill in recognition of the plants and martial prowess to survive the wild animals and demonic beasts that littered the wilds.

  It was also, to Wu Ying’s gratification, a well-paying job. The skill set required was narrow and lacked prestige. Few were willing to take on this occupation, preferring the more popular, more famous occupations like blacksmithing, apothecary, or just general martial arts.

  “How is your Master?” Elder Li asked Wu Ying the moment he neared her.

  Wu Ying, after he finished bowing and greeting both the Elder and Ru Ping, answered, “He is as well as can be expected. I’m sorry that I did not deliver the materials myself.”

  “It is understandable. Do not make this a regular occurrence, but they were packed adequately,” Elder Li replied. She waved, dismissing Senior Goh who moved away, already calling to the other students the orders he’d received. He did not stray far though, knowing they had to finish the morning inspection. “Did you and Elder Yang have a good conversation?”

  “We did.” Wu Ying hesitated, only to see Elder Li frown and gesture for him to continue. “We have decided to acquire the necessary ingredients for the cure.”

  “And you need information on the Sun Lotus.” At Wu Ying’s acknowledgement, the Elder twisted her hand slightly. A slight fluctuation in the ambient chi, and a small scroll appeared in her hand, which she offered to Wu Ying. “Everything that I can recall, including three locations that should be accessible to you both. They might still contain the Sun Lotus.”

  “Might?” Wu Ying said.

  “It is explained within, but the Sun Lotus is a very delicate plant. Even minor changes in the ambient environment can force it to go into dormancy, not blooming further.”

  “Thank you, Master.” Wu Ying made the document disappear into his own storage ring, mentally grimacing at the lack of space within. His had been acquired two years ago, a gift from a grateful group of merchants. But it was only the size of a closet—a small closet at that. Yet he had not had time to acquire a larger spirit ring.

  In truth, he was holding out for a spiritual storage ring much like Elder Li’s, one which allowed the storage of plants and other cuttings in an optimal environment. Most plants could not be stored in the quasi-real environment of the average spiritual storage ring.

  “Go. Read. Ru Ping will have your tasks soon.”

  Cognizant of his dismissal, Wu Ying bowed again and scurried off, offering Senior Goh a quick nod as he passed. Wu Ying found an empty table and carefully brushed the dirt and plant clippings off the wooden surface before he extracted the document from Elder Li. It was not a long scroll, so it didn’t take Wu Ying long to read and memorize its contents.

  First was an intricately detailed sketch of the plant itself. Beside the sketch was a quicker one of the surrounding environment, including common plant types that grew nearby. Next was a written description, with specific characteristics, of the plant and potential plants that could be mistaken for the Sun Lotus and a description of the most unique and outstanding surrounding plants. After that, additional details on the plant itself were listed.

  These details included things like the growing season, the various stages of growth, the various parts of the plant, and most importantly for Wu Ying, the gathering method. Even with all the other details Elder Li had crammed into the scroll, her calligraphy beautiful and exact, the gathering method itself took a large portion of the remaining scroll. Elder Li had gone deeply into detail not only about when, and how, one must approach the plant, but the tools and the requisite chi flows to ensure the optimal gathering.

  Next up was a description of the uses for the Sun Lotus. As a fire chi aspected flower, it was often used with other metal or earth ingredients in a variety of purifying pills and potions, as well as poisons. Its ability to melt and warm the ingredients—and the body that ingested it—was highly prized. It was even used in some of the more extravagant healing pills and medicinal baths as a warming ingredient, replacing the need for a spirit flame.

  When Wu Ying reached the end of the document, he winced. The storage requirements for the Sun Lotus were detailed and intricate. They also required specific items, including a Spirit-level white jade enchanted storage container. As for the final lines on the three loc
ations, they were just as painful, for even Wu Ying had garnered the knowledge of where at least two of those locations were. Far away and in highly dangerous, spirit beast-dominated areas.

  On another slip of paper, one that had been left loose in the scroll, Wu Ying found a list of books. He knew this was her way of providing Wu Ying even more homework, since neither party trusted Elder Li’s memory entirely. It was a habit she had taught him—review the original documentation always. A single mistake in identification could result in significant problems, for too many plants had no, or even opposite, effects when mixed in an apothecarist’s cauldron.

  Before he could read the document for a third time, a familiar voice called to Wu Ying. A moment later, a dirt-encrusted hand clapped down on his shoulder. “Enough reading. There’s work to be done.”

  Wu Ying looked up at Senior Goh, who offered him a wide smile as he retracted his hand. Scrambling to his feet and storing the scroll, Wu Ying looked down on the shorter cultivator. “Of course, Senior. Just tell me what I need to do.”

  Even in these times, Wu Ying had his own obligations to fulfill to Elder Li. As his Gatherer teacher, she too was a master, a teacher that he owed obligations and fealty towards After all, her help, her education, did not come without a price.

  “Good. Now, there is a batch of Cold Eel Spirit Grass that needs transplanting and harvesting,” Senior Goh said, pointing at the highest level of the terraced farms.

  Wu Ying could not help but wince. It was going to be a long, cold day, it seemed.

  ***

  It was late that evening when Tou Hei found Wu Ying in his own residence. Unlike the grand buildings the Elders lived in, the inner sect members had smaller, single courtyard houses. Still, the amount of land given to them, especially for their expansive training courtyards, was larger than Wu Ying’s former family home. As a peasant, he had lived in a single-story mud-walled house with a pair of wings on either side of the entrance. There was no courtyard to hide away within. For them, they had the entirety of their rice farm to enjoy the outdoors.

  The ex-monk stood quietly in the courtyard, waiting for his friend to exit his meditation. While Wu Ying could, and did, cultivate as he moved, it was still not as effective as the seated, still meditation that most practiced. As Wu Ying grew more and more mindful of his moving cultivation method, he knew that his ability to cultivate during it would increase, but it was still a relatively new form of cultivation. In that sense, with his need to improve his cultivation rank in a short period, Wu Ying had once again turned back to the tried-and-true method of still cultivation.

  With each breath he took, Wu Ying drew in the ambient chi of the world. As it flowed through the air toward him, it rebounded off his aura, which only allowed some of the chi to enter his body. This recent addition to his cultivation practice ensured that only the correctly aspected chi would enter. As there were five elemental chi types—fire, wood, water, earth, and metal—Wu Ying had to push aside all five types and only tap into the sixth unaspected chi element.

  After all, using the Yellow Emperor cultivation method, Wu Ying had yet to attune his body to a specific chi type. That meant that he could absorb all types of chi, convert it into unaspected chi, and make it part of his own to control. But such a conversion took time. It also meant that he lacked some of the other advantages the aspected cultivators gained.

  For example, Tou Hei was fire aspected. When he fought, he could imbue his staff, even his aura, with flames. He also handled both heat and cold much better than Wu Ying, the chi within his body keeping Tou Hei well insulated. In hot weather, Tou Hei managed to cultivate faster, and would likely blossom in deserts and volcanic mountains.

  On the other hand, someone like Senior Goh, who was of the wood aspect, had a steadiness to both his emotions and his presence that fire or air chi individuals lacked. He was able to impart some of his own chi into plants directly, sensing their conditions, allowing him to manipulate their growth. It made him a good gardener, since his attunement could spread across the entirety of the farm.

  As for Wu Ying, he had yet to choose. Of course, attuning to achieve an aspect was not just about choice, but also one’s dao. Some individuals were naturally more in tune with one type of chi. Finding the right type with certainty could be tricky.

  In either case, using the Never Empty Wine Pot cultivation exercise, Wu Ying could increase the amount of chi coming into his body, allowing him to speed up his cultivation. Over the past few months since he had learned the exercise, he had achieved the Major Level of achievement. That meant that he regularly cultivated at a faster rate than before, refilling his empty dantian and meridians after each exercise. The continual process of refilling and emptying was part of cultivation, as he attempted to achieve a higher level of control and standard cultivation amounts.

  It was a pity there were no numbers, no graphic imagery that could tell Wu Ying exactly how much more control, how close he was to achieving his next breakthrough. All he had were feelings, the intuitive understanding one gained of his own body and mind, that allowed him to understand that he had improved.

  Eventually, Wu Ying found a quiet spot in his cultivation, a time when the ambient chi had stopped flowing toward him and the flow of energy was level. The gap allowed him to end his cultivation with a simple calming of his energy. A long, slow exhalation and Wu Ying opened his eyes, spotting his friend.

  “I made sure to visit the assignment hall, so you should have gotten your points,” Wu Ying assured his friend. After all, the pair of them had taken the assignment together. Both cultivators were required to register the completion of an assignment when taken together for either to receive the rewards. It helped to ensure that jobs were done correctly.

  “I know. I wasn’t concerned.” Tou Hei took a seat opposite Wu Ying, crossing his legs on the bare ground and smoothing out his silk robes. “I heard about your Master. My Master and I send our condolences.”

  “Condolences? He’s not dead yet,” Wu Ying snapped.

  “We didn’t mean, I didn’t mean to imply…” Tou Hei said, flustered. He drew a breath, muttered Amithabha under his breath to calm himself, and continued. “I’m here to offer whatever help I can.”

  Wu Ying shook his head. “No need. I’m sorry. I should not have snapped. It’s just never seems to end, does it?”

  Tou Hei cocked his head to the side before he shrugged. “The heavens will what they will. I do not think they care or ask what we think.”

  Wu Ying could not help but laugh, knowing how true that was. Heaven willed and mortals filled. “Thank you. You’re a good friend. But don’t you have your own troubles?” Wu Ying looked down at Tou Hei’s abdomen.

  Tou Hei shrugged. “We are looking into exercises for my dantian.”

  “And?” Wu Ying pressed.

  “Accessing another sect’s library is… complicated.” Tou Hei made a face. “We’ve already looked through a couple of the smaller sects, those who owe allegiance to the Verdant Green Waters, or who Master Yun has ties to, but…” The ex-monk shrugged. “It’s difficult.”

  “What do you mean difficult?”

  “My situation is a little unique.” Tou Hei chuckled. “Not that all these exercises are not unique in themselves. After all, it’s unusual to need the exercises, so they are all made for a specific case. And so when we try to find an exercise…”

  “You’re trying to fit something that’s unique into your own unique situation,” Wu Ying finished. The pair fell silent, contemplating the issue. Eventually, Wu Ying asked the obvious question. “Then why not make an exercise that is unique for you?”

  “Oh, I should just do it like that?” Tou Hei said, snapping his fingers. The sound bounced around the small courtyard, filling in the silence “The kind of individuals who can make such exercises are uncommon. A badly created exercise could do as much damage as it fixes. In fact, many of the exercises I’ve read thus far all have their… drawbacks.”

  “Drawbacks?”


  “Mmm… some damage the dantian—often on purpose. Others make the resulting Core fragile. Some can cause chi deviations, changing personalities. Meridians, especially the blocked Energy Storage meridians, can be clogged further as new corruption is introduced during the process.” Tou Hei dropped his voice, leaning closer to his friend. “Many are just expensive. They require ingestion of some terribly expensive—and horrendous tasting—herbal supplements.”

  Wu Ying frowned. “How would you know how it tastes?”

  “We’ve tested a few,” Tou Hei said, scratching his bald head. “Sometimes the only way to see if they’d work was to test.”

  Wu Ying sighed. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help.”

  “Oh, you will.” Tou Hei’s eyes glittered with amusement. “I did say most of these required esoteric and expensive herbal supplements, didn’t I?”

  Wu Ying paused, then barked a laugh. “Yes, yes, I’ll be your little dove. I’ll carry the stones and sticks to fill your unending sea[6].” He sobered after a moment. “It’s the least I can do, after all you’ve done.”

  “Between friends, there are no favors,” Tou Hei said peacefully. “Now, tell me about your plans.”

  Wu Ying shook his head. “We have two months to learn everything we can about our targets. To find the details about the ingredients we need, their locations, and to plan our journey.” He looked away from his friend, taking in his small training hall, eyes resting on the wooden jian in the corner that he practiced with every day. “Two months for me to get stronger.”

  “Your cultivation level?”

  “Yes. I need to open more meridians.”

  “And…?”

  “I’m probably at least a month away from the next one,” Wu Ying said.